Thursday, 8 August 2013

Nine Round Breathing Technique

A simple focusing technique that can be done at the beginning of your meditation practice (to ground and connect with the breath) or as a daily meditative exercise when you need to relax and let go NOW!

This meditative exercise is especially useful when you are highly agitated or excessively active.

Find yourself a space on the floor or in a chair - extra nice if you can find somewhere with a little natural sunshine - and if you have the luxury of time and space, cover yourself with a blanket and ensure you set a comfortable position.

Close your eyes. Settle. Realise that in this moment there is nowhere you have to go and nothing you have to do.

Feel the warmth of your body, the light and sounds outside.

Take a moment to just inhale and exhale through the nose - gently bringing your attention to the fact that you are breathing

Notice the rhythm of your breath.

In the Nine Round Meditative Exercise we hold our attention (our focus) on the gentle movement of the air at the nostrils. As you inhale, notice the slightly cooler air at the entrance of your nostrils .. as you exhale, notice the warmer smoother movement of air.

In this exercise we place our focus on the flow of air into each nostril separately:

1. For three rounds of breathing (breathing in and out is one round) – imagine as strongly as you can that you are breathing in through the left nostril and out through the right

2. For the next three rounds of breathing – reverse the process, and imagine as strongly as you can that you are breathing in through the right nostril and out through the left

3. For the final three rounds of breathing – focus on breathing in and out evenly and smoothly through both nostrils

4. Repeat this exercise .. in fact, you can repeat this exercise as many times as you wish or have the time for.

In meditation we deeply relax the body and calm the mind.

After meditation we re-engage with our day and our tasks with renewed energy and awareness. Allowing the mind to still and the breath to release (through the practice of meditative exercises) we clear away the noise and debris of the mind, and allow space for new thoughts to arise. In this spaciousness healing happens.

Adopting this simple exercise for just 15 minutes a day .. you may transform yourself and those around you.